BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli soldiers shot and injured a 15-year-old Palestinian with a live bullet on Friday evening near the village of Nilin in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah, claiming the boy threw a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli settler's vehicle near an Israeli bypass road.

The boy was identified as Utayba Jiyad Hussein Amireh. The details of his injury were not yet known as of Saturday.

Israeli media reported that the youth had allegedly thrown a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli settler vehicle on a nearby bypass road, one of a number bypass roads that cut through the occupied Palestinian territory to connect illegal settlements to Israel and Jerusalem.

Israeli soldiers sealed the area following the shooting and prevented people and Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances from approaching the wounded teenager, according to locals.

Amireh was detained and transferred to an unidentified location.

The entrance of Nilin was also sealed, as Israeli forces erected a military checkpoint and prevented any vehicles from coming in or out of the village.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an that the official responsible for the shooting was from the Israeli border police. However, a spokesperson for the Israeli border police was not immediately available to comment on the incident.

Israeli forces have been strongly condemned for their treatment of Palestinian minors and excessive use of force against them. Four Palestinian minors have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of the year.

An Israeli army spokesperson claimed that the boys were throwing Molotov cocktails at the settlement, and that they were outside of their car when they were shot.

However, local sources told Ma'an at the time that Israeli soldiers fired heavily towards the teens’ vehicle while they were inside, and further details uncovered following the incident has cast serious doubt on Israel’s version of events.

Earlier last month, Israeli forces shot and killed 16-year-old Murad Yousif Abu Ghazi in al-Arrub refugee camp north of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, with the Israeli army at the time claiming that Abu Ghazi was throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli settler vehicles.

The Israeli army also claimed that 17-year-old Qusay Hassan al-Umour was throwing Molotov cocktails in January when Israeli forces shot al-Umour in the chest with live fire at least three times and killed him -- a claim that was widely contradicted by video evidence and investigations undertaken by rights groups, who branded the incident an unlawful and unjustified killing.

In many cases, Israel’s version of events has been disputed by witnesses, activists, and rights groups who have denounced what they have termed a "shoot-to-kill" policy against Palestinians who did not constitute a threat at the time of their death, or who could have been subdued in a non-lethal manner -- amid a backdrop of impunity for Israelis who committed the killings.